Jussier Formiga (born April 14, 1985) is a Brazilian

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competes in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing up to and including 51 kg (112 lb) for a title fight. Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of boxin ...

division. A professional competitor since 2005, Formiga most notably competed in the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

and is the former

Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

123-pound champion.

Mixed martial arts career

Shooto Brazil

Formiga won his professional mixed martial arts debut fight on November 29, 2008 at Shooto: Brazil 9 against Michael Willian Costa via split decision. This was followed up by an upset victory over Shinichi "BJ" Kojima via unanimous decision at Shooto: Revolutionary Exchanges 1: Undefeated. It was expected Formiga would be brought back for a year-end title rematch with Kojima. However, Kojima vacated the Shooto Bantamweight Championship, further complicating Jussier's future with the organization. Formiga was at this point, ranked as the number one Flyweight in the world and then fought Alexandre Pantoja, who was unbeaten as a Flyweight. On June 12, 2010, Formiga defeated Pantoja by unanimous decision to defend his South America Shooto 123 lb Championship.

Tachi Palace Fights

Formiga signed a four-fight exclusive contract with the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based Tachi Palace Fights organization. His first fight with the organization was against WEC veteran

Danny Martinez Daniel Eugene Martinez (born June 14, 1985) is an American Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight (MMA), flyweight division of Taura MMA. A professional mixed martial artist since 2006, Martinez has also competed i ...

at Tachi Palace Fights 7. Formiga won the fight by unanimous decision. Fomiga's next fight was against another WEC veteran in Ian McCall. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga next faced top-ranked Flyweight Mamoru Yamaguchi at Tachi Palace Fights 10. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On July 14, 2012 it was announced that Formiga signed with the UFC. Formiga faced John Dodson on October 5, 2012 at

UFC on FX 5 ''UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot'' (also known as ''UFC on FX 5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 5, 2012, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was the fifth UFC event broadcast l ...

. After a slow first round, Formiga began to succumb to the speed of Dodson, and was eventually finished via TKO with ground strikes at 4:35 of the second round. Formiga faced

Chris Cariaso Chris Vincent Cariaso (born May 27, 1981) is a retired Filipino-American mixed martial artist who competed as a Flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Personal Cariaso is of Filipino descent. Mixed martial arts career Since turning p ...

on May 18, 2013 at

UFC on FX 8 ''UFC on FX: Belfort vs. Rockhold'' (also known as ''UFC on FX 8'') was a mixed martial arts event held on May 18, 2013, at the Arena Jaraguá in Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil. The event was broadcast live on FUEL TV and FX (TV channel), FX. Backgrou ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga faced Joseph Benavidez on September 4, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 28. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round. Formiga faced

Scott Jorgensen Scott Roger Jorgensen (born September 17, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Jorgensen has formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, and ShoXC. Background ...

on March 23, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 38 ''UFC Fight Night: Shogun vs. Henderson 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 38'') was a mixed martial arts event held on March 23, 2014, at the Ginásio Nélio Dias in Natal, Brazil. Background The event was headlined by the anticipated rematc ...

. Formiga won the fight via submission in the first round. Formiga unintentionally butted Jorgensen's chin with the top of his skull, which went unnoticed by the referee and submitted the dazed Jorgensen via rear-naked choke. Jorgensen appealed the headbutt to the Brazilian Athletic Commission, however the result was upheld. Formiga was expected to face Zach Makovsky on August 2, 2014 at UFC 176. However, after UFC 176 was cancelled, Formiga/Makovsky was rescheduled and eventually took place on August 16, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 47. Formiga won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga was expected to face

John Moraga John Anthony Moraga (born March 20, 1984) is an American professional boxer and mixed martial artist who competes as a flyweight and featherweight in MMA and boxing, respectively. He is best known for his lengthy career in the Ultimate Fighting ...

on December 13, 2014 at

UFC on Fox 13 ''UFC on Fox: dos Santos vs. Miocic'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 13'') was a mixed martial arts event held at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 13, 2014. Background The event was the first that the organization has hosted in ...

. However, on November 21, Formiga pulled out of the fight and was replaced by UFC newcomer Willie Gates. Formiga faced

Wilson Reis Wilson Reis (born January 6, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. Reis is the former EliteXC Bantamweight Champion and has also competed for UFC, Bellator, ShoXC and Cage Warriors. Reis also appeared ...

on May 30, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 67. He won the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. Formiga next faced

Henry Cejudo Henry Carlos Cejudo (born February 9, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former freestyle wrestler. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC ...

on November 21, 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. He lost the fight by split decision. Formiga faced Dustin Ortiz on September 24, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 95 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The large ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga was expected to face Sergio Pettis on January 15, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 103. However, Formiga pulled out of the fight in late December and was replaced by

. Formiga faced

Ray Borg Ray Borg (born August 4, 1993), is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor until 2023, Borg is best known for his 12–fight tenure in the Ultima ...

on March 11, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 106. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. After alternating between wins and losses in the latest four fights, Formiga decided to move from his native Brazil to Florida, United States in order to train at

American Top Team American Top Team (ATT) is one of the primary teams in mixed martial arts. The gym was founded by Dan Lambert, who brought in former members of Brazilian Top Team Marcus "Conan" Silveira, Marcelo Silveira and Ricardo Liborio, but there is no fo ...

. Formiga faced Ulka Sasaki on September 23, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Saint Preux vs. Okami. He won the fight via submission in the first round. Formiga faced Ben Nguyen on February 11, 2018 at

UFC 221 ''UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 11, 2018, at Perth Arena in Perth, Australia. Background While the UFC has hosted 11 previous events across t ...

. He won the fight via technical submission in the third round due to a rear-naked choke. This win earned him the Performance of the Night bonus. Formiga faced Sergio Pettis on October 6, 2018 at

UFC 229 ''UFC 229: Khabib vs. McGregor ''was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on October 6, 2018, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United Stat ...

. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga faced Deiveson Figueiredo on March 23, 2019 at UFC Fight Night 148. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga faced Joseph Benavidez in a rematch on June 29, 2019 at UFC on ESPN 3. He lost the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Formiga faced Brandon Moreno on March 14, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 170. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Formiga faced Alex Perez on June 6, 2020 at

UFC 250 ''UFC 250: Nunes vs. Spencer'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 6, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United States. I ...

. He lost the bout via first round technical knockout. On November 16, 2020, it was announced that Formiga had been released from his UFC contract and is now a free agent.

Post-UFC career

After the release from the UFC, Formiga headlined LFA 124 against Felipe Bunes on February 11, 2022. He won the fight via technical submission due to a rear-naked choke in the second round.

Grappling career

Formiga competed against Tagir Ulanbekov in the co-main event of ADXC 6 on October 25, 2024. He won the match by unanimous decision.

Championships and awards

*Shooto South America **Shooto South American 123 lb Championship *

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

** Performance of the Night (One time) vs Ben Nguyen **Tied ( Alexandre Pantoja) for fourth most bouts in UFC Flyweight division history (16)

Mixed martial arts record

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Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

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Goiânia Goiânia ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian federative units of Brazil, state of Goiás. With a population of 1,536,097, it is the second-largest city in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West Region and the 10th-larges ...

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Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

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Jaraguá do Sul Jaraguá do Sul () is a city in the north of the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina. History The city was founded on July 25, 1876, by engineer and Brazilian Army colonel Emílio Carlos Jourdan and his family. The city wa ...

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–2 , John Dodson , TKO (punches) , UFC on FX: Browne vs. Bigfoot , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:35 ,

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Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Mamoru Yamaguchi , Decision (unanimous) , Tachi Palace Fights 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 252 ...

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Shinichi Kojima is a Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He has fought for most of his career in the Shooto organization. Mixed martial arts career Kojima was the Shooto Flyweight (MMA), Bantamweight Champion from 2006 until 2010, when an ACL inj ...

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, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Michael Willian , Decision (split) , Shooto Brazil 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Mossoró Mossoró () is a Municipalities of Brazil, Brazilian municipality in the interior of the States of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Norte, recognized as the capital of the Brazilian semi-arid region. Covering an area of approximately , it is the la ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Formiga, Jussier Brazilian male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male judoka Sportspeople from Natal, Rio Grande do Norte Martial artists from Rio Grande do Norte Living people 1985 births Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen